1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to signal distribution in a network such as a digital home network, and more particularly, to methods and apparatuses for providing load balanced signal distribution to client devices in such a network.
2. Background Information
Signal distribution networks, such as digital home networks, have become increasingly popular in today's society. For example, in a digital home network that receives audio and/or video signals from a signal source such as a satellite, devices/apparatuses known as “gateways” are often used to distribute signals to client devices, which may for example be embodied as set-top boxes (STBs).
One problem associated with conventional satellite gateway systems is that they do not support splitting satellite network feeds across multiple gateways. That is, a given network can be sourced from only one gateway at a time. Additionally, assuming relatively high bit rates (e.g., A3, etc.) and high definition content, a conventional system can easily result in a gateway exceeding its total output bandwidth at its output interface. For example, assuming a peak stream bit rate of 18 megabits per second, just 40 different H.264 streams are enough to consume an aggregate of 700-800 megabits per second on a GEI0 (i.e., Gigabit Ethernet Interface port 0) interface. In addition, when including spot beams, some satellite networks have more than 32 transponders and a transponder can support several video and audio channels. The inability to split such a network across multiple gateways means that a conventional system cannot simultaneously tune all its transponders.
The present invention described herein addresses the foregoing and/or other issues, and in particular, provides a new architecture that is capable of, among other things, preventing over-subscription of the output interface of a gateway, as well as providing flexibility in supporting new networks, larger numbers of satellite transponders, larger numbers of client devices, and gateway redundancy.